Me vs Windows 10

Definite Wants:

Privacy: O&O Shutup10 -- O&O ShutUp1

• • No extra crap in the install unlike DoNotSpy10

  • Has a "recommended settings" option

  • Ability to export/import settings so they can easily be reapplied after Windows updates

Annoyances/Tweaks: WinAero Tweaker -- Winaero Tweaker

• • So many options, I'll just list a few notables:

  • Classic Alt-Tab appearance

  • Links to Classic Photo Viwer/Calculator/Sticky Notes/W7 Games

Default Aps: O&O App Buster --O&O AppBuster

• • USE WITH CARE: Don't count on this being about to reinstall anything, if you want an app back

  • you'll want to get it through the Windows Store.

  • DON'T uninstall the Store, this potentially breaks things you weren't expecting to break and

  • makes it harder to get stuff back and/or install new stuff

Updates: Windows Update MiniTool - Download Windows Update MiniTool - MajorGeeks

• • Quick access to Windows updates and settings

  • Don't completely disable updates unless you're really on top of doing it manually, use a schedule instead.

Custom Tile Icons/Colors (Tileiconifier) -- https://github.com/Jonno12345/TileIconifier/releases

• • This was a workaround to save space in the stat menu -- rather than using labels Icolorized by category:

  • Blue=Internet, Purple=Multimedia, Orange=Productivity, Default=Games, Red=Admin ,Magenta=Utilties, Green=Misc

  • You can download and use your favorite image editor to grab the hex values of the colors.

Other Useful Things:

Dual Monitor Tools:http://dualmonitortool.sourceforge.net/

• • Various ways to make multiple monitors more usable like cursor-locking, application moving, etc.

Dropbox: https://db.tt/sIwUWIAgNh

• • Shamelessly plugging my referral link.

  • I like it for collaboration and it being cross-platform.

CCleaner: https://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

• • Of the various "Cleaners" I've tried (including some paid ones) this has caused me the least issues with not removing things it shouldn't.

  • The uninstaller is a bonus since windows now splits things between the old "add/remove programs" and the "installed apps" settings panel.

  • Remember to tell it which cookies to keep! ;)

Kaspersky Free: https://usa.kaspersky.com/free-antivirus

• For those of us who want more control than Windows Defender offers in a still very lightweight AV engine.

• The free version is way less ad-ridden than other companies' free offerings.

• IMHO, the whole "KASPERSKY AM BAD" was FUD: http://itsecurity.co.uk/2018/05/putting-fud-back-in-information-security/

Notepad++: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

• My favorite feature-rich without bloat text/code editor

Winrar: https://www.rarlab.com/

• • More functionality than Windows' built-in zip handling.

  • I've been using it since the 90's and see no reason to change.

SUMo Lite: https://www.kcsoftwares.com/?sumo

• • No-frills but all-inclusive check for software version updates

  • Only con: Sometimes tries to include beta versions.

Changelog

Nuked everything on this page, then posted links to software.

Added bibble-babble about the various software.